


Freeze the Heavens, fix the Earth

by icemakestars



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: AU, Ice Skater Gray, M/M, gratsu awww, i make myself ill, pure fluff, the otp of my heart
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-09
Updated: 2014-10-09
Packaged: 2018-02-20 07:34:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2420399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icemakestars/pseuds/icemakestars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loud, impatient and ungraceful, 16 year old Natsu is not remotely interested in ice skating of any kind. But then he sees Gray. Elegant, handsome, famous Gray, who is everything the pink head is not, sparks an interest which Natsu had not known existed. But will overcoming his flaws cause his relationship with the proclaimed 'Ice Prince' to develop in ways neither of them could ever imagine?...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Freeze the Heavens, fix the Earth

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! ^.^ 
> 
> It's been a while since I uploaded anything substantial like this... I disappoint myself sometimes ._. Honestly speaking, this piece of work has been on the go since January this year, I've just been too lazy to write it. I might make it into a multi-chaptered fic, depending on what you guys make of it... there's also this Gratsu stripper AU I've been working on for almost a year now, but I can never seem to finish it. And now that Rhov (the lovely, brilliant Rhov) has started to write her stripper AU 'Catch the Thunder' (I TOTALLY recommend that piece of work), I'm even more reluctant to upload it ._.
> 
> Anyway, if you love it or hate it, message me on tumblr:  
> http://fairy-glitter-girl.tumblr.com/
> 
> I promise I don't bite...
> 
> All these characters belong to Hiro Mashima. I, unfortunately, do not own any of them.

Natsu  stared in wonder at the display of elegant beauty he was currently witnessing. He couldn't help it when his jaw fell slack, and he wasn't to blame when butterflies (although  Natsu  had to admit that they felt more like  tiny dinosaurs, scratching and gnawing at his insides) rose in his stomach, threatening to overflow in what was sure to be an obvious display of emotion and admiration, something he was keen to avoid due to the growing number of people around him.

But it was entrancing, and it didn't seem like three minutes before the pair on screen whirled and skidded and flew to a gentle halt, more like a small infinity. And there were t ears in his eyes, real, genuine, sparkling  _ t ears _ ;  that was new. And he felt like he could watch the pair forever, the boy in particular, just because the way they had skated upon the ice was just something else, almost as if they were from another world, and the pink headed boy just couldn't get enough of their intricate movements- that was also new; figure skating, ice skating, dancing- anything that involved music and movement corresponding with one another- had never interested  Natsu Dragneel  before, but now the 1 6  year old found himself wanting to try it out, to give it ago. He wanted to soar like the boy on screen.

The entrancing boy was wearing a plain white button up shirt partly open at the top to reveal an exp a nse of creamy white flesh.  Even from a TV screen it was obvious he had a muscled stomach and strong shoulders. His legs were clad in tight black dinner trousers. Instead of shoes he wore black skates, laced expertly to look like formal footwear. The only casual thing about the well toned boy was his mess of ebony hair which swooped across his forehead and fell short just before it assaulted his liquid onyx eyes. His female companion wore a complimentary outfit of a short black dress decorated with sequins, the left arm turning transparent and showing off her pale skin, the sequins twisting and writhing around her arm in an intricate pattern of laced beauty. The frills at the bottom of the cloth nestled snugly against her soft thighs, the tight material hugging her curvy figure in the most flattering of ways. Her hair was pinned to her head in a delicate bun, stray tendrils of blue framing the flushed planes of her smiling face. Her skates were the same colour as her partners, the main difference being the silver buttons on hers which replaced the laces on his. Although she was beautiful in the innocent sense of the word, a rogue flower blooming early in spring whilst the snow still blanketed the ground,  Natsu  found himself drawn to the man even more than her; although they were equally talented, she lacked the natural grace and smooth comfort he seemed to find whilst expressing himself on the chilly surface of the ice. 

_ "And that was  Gray Fullbuster  and  Juvia Lockser , performing to  Traumerei  by Robert Schumann. Truly fantastic skating there, ladies and gentleman!" _ _ Gray _ _Fullbuste_ r , so that was his name.  Natsu  looked around at the other children in the orphanage, all of whom he considered to be his family. Cana, Lucy ,  Levy- even  _ Erza _ \- they were all mesmerised  by the stunning performance.

"He's superb, isn't he?"  Erza  praised absent-mindedly. She wasn't the type of person to give out positive feedback, but whenever she did it was definitely well deserved.

"Not to mention dreamy." Lucy sighed in response.

"I heard he's around the same age as us, and single at that." Winking at her blonde friend, Cana salvaged a magazine from underneath the chair she was sitting cro ss leg ged on, and threw it in the general direction of Lucy. She miscalculated completely and ended up getting cake-  Erza's  vanilla iced, strawberry filled layered cheesecake, to be exact- all over the floor... and  Erza  herself. 

Natsu  left as soon as he saw  Erza  stand up, afraid of the wrath which was sure to follow. Normally he would be up for a brawl  with the red headed maverick, nothing more than a gentle spar between two good friends, but tonight he just wasn't in the mood. 

Whilst  Natsu  brushed his teeth, he saw the unfamiliar surface of the ice. When he pulled his shirt over his head in preparation for bed, he heard nothing but the commentator drawling out the names of the dancers. And when sleep began to weigh heavily on his eyes and mind, he could think of nothing but wisps of black hair and eyes the colour of coal set ablaze.

~'*'~

Natsu  quivered in uncertain delight, his clammy palms clutching desperately to the grimy plastic railing placed in front of him. He panted in concentration, his brows furrowed and pink tongue protruding between the childlike plumpness of his pouting lips. He was like a baby deer supporting its own weight  for the first time, and stumbling at that . He wobbled and teetered on the alien planes of coolness which were assaulting his feet.  Natsu  had always been particularly sensitive to anything that was less than the 42 Degrees Celsius he lived his life at, so it shouldn't have surprised him to feel the ice's deathly chill from underneath his feet. And yet, somehow, it did.

He hissed in discomfort as his toes began to go numb, his teeth grating together in irritation. It looked so easy on screen, so why did he struggle so much now?

Natsu Dragneel  wasn't exactly well-known for his patience, and when he wanted something, he wanted something *immediately*. Not the next day, or three weeks time, he wanted the satisfying feeling of accomplishment as soon as he could.  Dread created a sticky film over the excitement in  Natsu's  eyes as he realised that, to get the level he had seen just days before, it might not take months,  it c ould take  years . 

His lapse in concentration caused him to stumble on the slippery solidness, and he fell, r ather ungracefully,  on his front, his face impacting painfully with the ice. " Chya !"  Natsu  exclaimed as he sat up and rubbed his nose which was already beginning to throb. 

"Wow, you really are terrible!" The musical chimes of laughter sounded from a few metres behind  Natsu , and he turned to glare at the person who was so shamelessly mocking him. His auburn eyes change from those of anger to those of delighted surprise when he immediately recognised the  the  droopy, stygian eyes and dark, feathery hair.  It's the boy from TV!, Natsu's  inner monologue exclaimed excitedly, but before he could process the matter further, the almost-stranger began to speak once again. "It seems almost cruel that someone as bad as you would recklessly be attempting to skate. Do you want a hand,  Slanty  Eyes?" 

"Screw you, Droopy Eyes! I can do it all by myself!"  Natsu  growled his retort, all excitement he had over meeting the Ice Prince dispersed like fog on a summer's morning, only to be replaced with provoked annoyance.

Defiantly,  Natsu  wobbled to his feet, biting his lip to keep the sounds of his anguished pants and frustrated grunts from reaching the ears of his observer. When the salmon haired boy had picked himself up- and all fears of falling had cleared from his mind- he turned to smirk triumphantly at  Gray , who offered him an amused smile in return.

"Say, what's your name,  Bozu ?" 

"B- Bozu ?! I'm around the same age as you, you moron!"  Natsu's  flare of anger did nothing to disguise the colour of his cheeks.  He could appreciate being called 'Squirt' by the people who worked at the orphanage, Wakaba and Macao, but by someone who was only a year or so older than himself?  Natsu's  fists clenched at the shaming embarrassment of it all. 

"Oh, so you only  act  like a child then?"  Gray  raised his eyebrows in unabashed amusement. 

"Whatever! I'm going home!"  Natsu  yelled before he turned and stomped  away. The seething anger and hot embarrassment made  Natsu  forget his surroundings, and he was only able to get a meter away before his footing gave out and he, once again, fell flat on the ice. 

~'*'~

Natsu's  eyes squinted against the imminent assault of bright lights, and the noise which rumbles from the back of his throat might only just pass as human . As the memories slowly began slotting back into place, the pick headed boy could only rub his throbbing temple and let an exhausted sigh pass between his dry lips. He rolled over on the cushions which supported him, stretched out his cramping muscles and sighed once more.

"Hey, are you alight?" The sooty eyes which  Natsu  had only ever seen sporting mocking arrogance and dry humour now provided  a passive concern, the type of worry you feel when you see a stranger fall down on the streets; fleeting, but notable.

"I... didn't see you there."  Natsu  whispered cautiously, unsure where his relationship  stood with the famous skater. Looking up,  Natsu  saw the frown on the older boy's face, and t he intensity in  Gray's  eyes made him  feel uncomfortable. In stubborn ignorance , the pink head refused to meet  Gray's  gaze. 

The minutes which passed, thick with intolerable silence, tortured both boys. They both  had things they wanted to say, and yet no words to say them with. The words they chose got suck in their throat before they reached the uncertain tremble of each boy's lips.  T he silence that dragged on felt like suffocation.  Natsu Dragneel  could think of many favourable situations. This, however, was not one of them. 

"Thanks for everything... I owe you one."  Natsu  muttered finally, standing up and wiping his sweaty palms over his withered jeans.  His heart beat erra tically , and yet he couldn't explain why.  Gray , the boy he had been so fascinated with not too long ago, had turned out to be the same as all of the other teenagers  Natsu  knew; cocky, obnoxious and arrogant. He hadn't even asked the pink haired boy's name, and yet...  Natsu  didn't want to leave, not yet.

"Wait, don't go..."  Gray  trailed off, unsure how to address the fiery teen.

" Natsu ." He supplied helpfully, and turned to offer a weak smile in the direction of the raven haired boy.

" Natsu ..."  Gray  contemplated this, his gaze fixed firmly on the ground.  Natsu  fidgeted on the balls of his heels, not sure whether or not it would be alright for him  to leave, or if it would look rude. Just as he had decided to make a beeline for the door,  Gray  looked up. His eyes were filled with steely determination, and  Natsu  gulped away the nerves which closed his throat together like tar. 

"Let me teach you how to skate."  The desperation laced in  Gray's  voice surprised both boys.  Gray blushed as he watched  Natsu sit  down where he had previously stood, his legs crossed beneath him, his back erect and eyes bright with interest. The dusting over  Gray's  cheeks reddened.

"Why would you want to teach me?"  Natsu  approached cautiously, his russet coloured eyes squinting in suspicion. He didn't want to doubt the earnest curve of  Gray's  lips, but the pink head couldn't help but feel conflicted at how differently the skater was treating him now in comparison to when they had originally met. 

"Be-because you could use a teacher? You do suck pretty bad, after all." Despite the nervou s  falter of his voice, the  jibe he sent  Natsu's  way felt natural between the two of them, as though they'd been doing it for years.

"You bastard! You'll see! One day I'll be even better than you!"  He shot to his feet, his fists clenched and teeth bared. Sharp  puffs of air left his nostrils as his breathing become shallower. Gray  could clearly see the boy was prepared to fight at anytime, and yet he couldn't resist some more light teasing. 

"Prove it."  Gray  smirked, his confidence growing again.

"How?"  Natsu  growled, his eyes burning with fiery intensit y .

"Meet me here at 11 o'clock every Saturday for the next month. If you improve, I'll admit defeat and you win."

"And what if you win?"  Natsu  eyes the older boy sceptically, already  afraid of the answer before it's been given.

"Well, I'll have to think about that." The arrogant tone was back in  Gray's  voice, proving that he already believed he'd won this bet. 

With seething defiance,  Natsu's  rough voice barked out a brisk  ' You're on!' before he barged past the raven haired boy and stalked out of the room, slamming the door on his exit.

"Well,'  Gray  spoke to himself, his lips curling up into an amused smile, 'that kid definitely is something." 


End file.
